Description

Personality

Personality:
Gideon holds honor above all things. His duty as a lord is to be held to a higher standard than anyone else. This honor is not a light burden, and it has turned him into a methodical man. At war he is able to seemingly make snap decisions that leave others flabbergasted because he already made the decision. His sense of self and purpose is daunting and it is what has enabled him to accomplish so much. He cares for each of his men individually and sees their failures as his own.

However, the very things that make him an excellent field commander do not transfer into politics so well. Gideon's temper is well known, as is his uncompromising view towards matters of his honor.

Goals and aspirations:
Gideon hopes to one day command armies and conquer nations as a great warlord. He keeps this to himself as it would look as if he planned to step out of his station. He doesn't want to be a lord, just a general.

Fears:
The death of his uncle who raised him, not only would it leave Gideon sorrowful, but it would also mean that Gideon would be head of his house. Not something Gideon looks forward to, though he does fulfill all of his duties and would be honor bound to succeed Roland Ce'dareaux.

Likes:
War. Battle. Taverns. Women. Though he holds himself in restraint as an example to his men, Gideon would like nothing more than to live like a common soldier. So he must make due with only war and battle.

Dislikes:
Politics. Petty squabbling and back biting. There is nothing that makes Gideon's temper flare more than nobles stopping progress for their selfish whims. More than once Gideon has been asked to leave court over matters of state. The Regent. The gypsy bastard gives favors to his undeserving kin, making enemies among the Rydar nobles. Fool.

Equipment

Notable skills/abilities:
Cavalry prodigy and strategist.

Equipment:
Gideon's blade, Serpent Breath, is large and ornate falchion. Somewhere between a sword and an axe it is mainly used in mounted forms, such as Arc of the Moon, Woodsman Stripping the Bark, and Strike the Spark. The hilt is the neck and head of a great serpent while the folds of steel in the blade are intricately formed into flames. His broad-headed lance, which is two feet taller than himself, is barbed. He has two mounts, one for heavy cavalry and one for light. Stoic, his large bay gelding, and Bemossed his sable thoroughbred from Sarife.

History

Biography:
Gideon Ce'dareaux, an honorable young man from a Rydar family known for it's political scandals and shady business practices. Gideon was the nephew of the current head of the Ce'dareaux family, Roland of Redstone Keep. With the death of his cousin Eduardo Ce'dareaux Gideon became the Ce'dareaux heir apparent.

Gideon is a military man, he spent every moment as a child at Redstone Keep learning the blade and lance. Poetry and the like held no interest for him, what need is there to woo a peasant girl? However, poetry and philosophy were made into a part of studies just as business and politics. With a good head for numbers it was expected that he get involved in the family business of trade and transport.

For a few months at the age of fifteen he was given charge over a caravan on it's way to the capitol. Everything went as expected when an arrow was shot from the foliage on the side of the road, then another and another. The family seneschal, who was mentoring him at the time, suggested a few guards take Lord Gideon and escape leaving the others behind. Gideon, however, was not going to turn tail and run, his honor would not allow him to leave behind his people to the dastardly machinations of these common brigands. When his seneschal reminded him that often generals were given to flight in the face of overwhelming force, Gideon replied with a smile that a few arrows were hardly overwhelming force. Gideon ordered the various wagons around the main party. He then took almost the entire mounted guard and made as if it to escape. When the brigands rose from the cover of the forest, almost slavering over their waiting prey, Gideon and his mounted contingent rode from the opposite side of the road they had come from and flanked the bandits. He and the guardsman killed most, leaving a few for the prisons of Voltas.

Upon arriving at the capitol his uncle, who was in Voltas to fulfill his duties to the Crown and Regent, made a great show of seeing his nephew return in public. In private Roland was furious. The brigands, who were executed immediately upon entering the city, were paid for by the Ce'dareaux family. The materials in the caravan were going to a rival and were not meant to reach him. While Gideon knelt, head bowed, taking his uncle's harsh words in stoic silence Roland came to a realization. The next day Gideon was given to the military academy to learn tactics and war.

For many years Gideon excelled at the Académie de Guerre (french for Academy of War). He was the star of his military tutor's and always learned from his mistakes. The honors he received at the academy were numerous and prestigious, though only worn on parade. After four years of the academics of battle Gideon was given twenty cavalry and a seat at the Lord-General's war table.

For two years he has acted as the the Lance of Valania, always at the front lines and never a crippling defeat. Now, at the age of twenty-one Gideon has become the heir-apparent of his house. With his cousin's death at the hands of a rather vicious illness contracted while indulging in his favorite activity with a new scullery maid, many fingers are being pointed in various directions including his. While not the eldest behind Eduardo he is the best choice, and his uncle does not think Gideon of enough political ambition to be behind the deed.

The Ce'dareaux crest is a serpent on a tawny field with an argent bend. Gideon personal crest has the serpent wrapped around a lance.